Present Tense: Pleasure Times Four (Out of the Fire Book 3)

by Candace Blevins

  Venom shook his head and sighed, but he motioned the lion to come to him. He’d been standing at attention near the back wall, as if on sentry duty.

  “Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to Andreas. He is mine in every way possible. Every way that doesn’t encroach upon His Majesty’s claims, of course. He will likely return to New York after Christmas, so he can finish his degree.” He looked to Fabio. “You may speak to him. Thank you for asking first.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Andreas. My friend was right — I was jealous of you when I first scented you on our Kelsey. Having met you, I’m happy she has you to feed from. I appreciate the energy I feel coming from you and your vampire. I understand there’s no reason for me to be jealous. The more people who care about our girl, the better. She’s new here, and she needs friends.”

  Andreas looked to Venom, who gave him a nod, and then he looked back to Fabio. “Thank you for that. I follow my Master’s orders in all things, but knowing her lovers approve when she drinks from me eases my heart.”

  35

  Kelsey’s world imploded. Since becoming a vampire, she’d experienced every kind of orgasm imaginable, but nothing had hit her like this.

  Her throat was full of Fabio, Collosa was all the fucking way in her pussy, and Eunice was buried in her ass. She’d drank from all three, and now, as her orgasm pulled her under and shot her into the great expanse of the universe, she felt as if she was connected to her men — as if they were each a helium-filled balloon, tethered to her, floating her farther and farther from earth without a ballast.

  The word ballast lodged in her brain and she realized she’d have to be the one to balance them, to ground them.

  She grabbed the energy of each, the string to their balloons, pulled them in, and balanced everyone’s energy so they stopped spinning and wobbling. Images came to her of war, of pain, and she shook her head.

  She’d been on the other end of this, when others controlled the pipeline, but she’d have to do it this time. All four of them were orgasming at once and she almost got lost again, but she dug for control with her toenails and focused on what brought them together. Christmas trees, time in the shooting range, sitting around the kitchen table cleaning weapons after a shoot, playing video games, and then, finally, took them back to sex and focused on bringing all of their orgasms down together in a soft landing.

  When the room came back in focus, she was on the bottom of the pile, but it was okay because Kelsey didn’t need to breathe. Her men seemed to be breathing okay, so she didn’t try to move anyone.

  Eunice came back to himself first.

  “What the motherfucking fuck was that?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.”

  “I’m good,” Fabio said. She couldn’t see his face, but she could hear his grin.

  “James?” She asked.

  “Blood magic. We’re bound.”

  “Yeah. I think we might be.”

  She scented Eunice’s fear, but she couldn’t help him with it.

  “You all drank from me, and then we all orgasmed together. The odds of getting four people to orgasm together are slim, so I imagine it was something in the connection the blood formed.”

  “An unintentional blood ceremony.”

  Eunice said it as a statement, not a question, so she didn’t insult him by answering. She merely asked, “Are you angry?”

  “Did you know it would happen?”

  “No. If I’d thought it through, I might have questioned why you wanted me to take a sip from all three of you, but I didn’t think.” She’d done as she was told.

  “Okay,” James said. “It’s done. No one’s to blame. Options are to try to undo it, or to accept it.”

  Undoing a blood bond from vampire to shapeshifter wasn’t easy, but Kelsey didn’t point out she wasn’t certain it was a possibility. She could move far, far away and lessen it, certainly. It seemed best to let the men sort through what they wanted to do before she brought logistics in.

  “Is undoing it possible?” Eunice asked.

  Well, so much for that thought. “I don’t know. I mean, yeah, I could move to Alaska or Italy or somewhere else equally far away and it wouldn’t matter as much. The three of you would still feel it, probably, but you wouldn’t have a vampire close at hand who you’re bound to.”

  Everyone adjusted, so Fabio was perpendicular above them, across the bed, and she was between Collosa and Eunice.

  “Not an option,” Eunice said, the weight of his hand on her belly. Claiming her. “The question was whether it can be undone. You aren’t going anywhere.”

  James shifted and curled his hand around her right breast. “Can we all telepath now?”

  Theoretically, they should be able to, but she wasn’t sure how she went about opening pathways between the men if they weren’t already there.

  “Aim your thoughts at Fabio,” she told James. “Since he doesn’t mind that sort of thing.”

  She felt the energy move between them, and then heard him ask Fabio, You okay with this? You’re being quiet.

  Maybe it was wrong to listen in, but she did it anyway.

  It’s perfect, as far as I’m concerned, but only if the two of you can handle it.

  I’m willing to try it out a few days before making a decision.

  “I assume,” Eunice said, “the silence means ya’ll are speaking telepathically?”

  “Yeah,” said Fabio. “Do you want to try talking to me?”

  “I do not.”

  “Aaron’s probably going to insist,” James told him. “If we have it available, he’s going to want us to use it.”

  Eunice kissed Kelsey’s shoulder, and it made her heart do a little double-beat.

  “In truth,” Eunice said, “there’s a part of me screaming that we should be upset about this, but I’m not. I mean, I’m not comfortable with it, but if the choice is living with it or sending Kelsey away, I’ll find a way to live with it.” He’d been on his back, and he rolled to his side and looked down on Kelsey. “I love you. I did before, and I feel it stronger now. I’ve been mind-fucked by a vampire before, so I know what it feels like, and this isn’t it.”

  Kelsey looked up at him and gave him a truth he needed to know. “I have this power over lust and sex and...” She closed her eyes a few seconds, and then opened them and said it all at once while staring into his oh-so-blue eyes. “It may not feel the same with me as it felt with her. I can’t say for sure what you’re feeling, but I have to be completely honest with you, and that means telling you I just don’t know.”

  She felt all three of them relax. Physically and mentally, it was as if a dozen overstretched rubber bands went completely loose.

  “And that’s why I think we’re all going to be okay with it,” Fabio told her. “You’re being completely fucking honest. We trust you.”

  “Yes, but it means we have to trust Marco,” Eunice said. “He automatically owns anyone the vampire community considers Kelsey’s property. Like it or not, if we’re bound to her, they see us as her property, and that means we also belong to Marco.”

  “Which means we need Aaron and Nathan,” James said from beside her. “They’ll know the supernatural legalities.”

  “Before we do that,” Kelsey said, “let’s talk about...” Fuck. “One of the purposes of a vampire being able to bind shapeshifters and humans to her is so they can’t hurt her when she’s dead to the world. It ensures the loyalty is built in, whether they want it to be there or not, and there’s nothing I can do about that part of this. Also, if I were really strong, it would make ya’ll stronger. I don’t know if I have enough oomph to power ya’ll up, but it feels like something we should play around with.”

  “Then we will,” James said. “As for the loyalty part, you had that from us anyway, so I don’t see a problem with it. I don’t feel any more or less loyal than I did before.”

  “I’ll be the guinea pig for the strength test,�
�� Fabio said, sliding off the bed. “I bench pressed seven hundred yesterday, five times. Let’s put a thousand pounds on and see what happens.”

  The exercise room was on this level, since the men didn’t want to put so much weight on the first floor. Kelsey wished she could shower first, but merely went to the restroom to clean up with baby wipes before sliding into a robe and slippers and meeting the men in the workout room.

  They’d added weights to a barbell, and Fabio slid under it on the bench press station when she entered the room.

  “How does this work?” he asked her.

  “Good question. For starters, I think I’ll touch your feet and aim energy at you. If it works, maybe I can try it from a distance on someone else.”

  Eunice felt the energy flowing through him when Kelsey sent it to Fabio. Apparently not as much as Fabio got, since he lifted the thousand pounds as if it were a few hundred, but he was part of the exchange.

  “Fuck.” Kelsey sounded incredulous, and he looked over at her and took a step back. Her hair was flowing all around her, and she was levitating.

  “Power of three, but it’s more, I guess since we’re four.” She said, and floated to the floor. “I know you all feel it. Not as much as Fabio, since that’s where I focused our energy, but it isn’t just my energy I’m handing out, but it’s ours.”

  “That isn’t the way it’s supposed to work,” James noted.

  “No, but we were already bound, sort of, by Marco,” Eunice told them. “With me as the head, then ya’ll, then Kelsey. He set us up as a household hierarchy where she was concerned. Is concerned.” He held out his right hand and focused on pulling energy towards him. It flowed to him as if a dam had opened up, and he took two steps back to try to manage it all.

  Everyone looked to him, and he shook his head to try to find his equilibrium. “Fuck. I don’t know if Kelsey’s the one in charge, guys.”

  He stopped and considered all angles. If he did this and it worked, he risked pissing the new Master Vampire off, but he didn’t think it would cause a rift. Or, not enough of one to matter.

  Eunice knew supernatural law inside and out. It’s not just survival of the fittest, it’s also survival of the smartest.

  He looked at Fabio and James, gauging their reactions to what he was going to do. They’d be pissed he didn’t talk to them about it first, but he was pretty sure they’d get over it. He looked to Kelsey, put his hands on his hips, and drew power to him.

  “You will not tell the vampires about this. Marco has no need to know what we’ve done. What we are.” He looked to Collosa. “With Marco out of the picture, not even Aaron and Nathan need to be told.”

  Fabio came out from under the barbell on the stand, stood, and crossed his arms. “We can’t keep this from everyone. They’ll know.”

  Collosa rubbed his chin through his beard. “I’m not sure they will. The three of us have always been connected through friendship. Our energy has come across to our enemies as if we’re bound — more than one of them has remarked on it. If we do this right, they’ll just think that’s grown stronger because we’re part of a foursome now, sharing blood and orgasms with the same vampire.”

  “Are we sure she won’t be able to tell Marco?” Fabio asked.

  “Yeah. I’m sure,” Kelsey said. “I feel the lock in my head. It’s an order, much as one Marco gave me with that kind of intention would feel.” She sighed and looked to Eunice. “Some Master Vampires would kill you for this — for taking one of their people over and hiding the connection.”

  “Marco can’t afford to do that,” Collosa pointed out, and Eunice was glad someone else saw what he’d figured out before he did this. If their secret got out, they’d have a pissed off Master Vampire to deal with, but he wasn’t going to go to war with the Dragon King over it.

  “Agreed,” said Fabio. He crossed his arms and glared at Eunice. Unhappy, but he didn’t seem over-the-top pissed. “Give her an order. Something challenging.”

  Eunice relaxed his arms at his side, shook his shoulders to make sure nothing was tense, and told Kelsey, “Levitate me a foot off the concrete.”

  Less than a second later, he was floating. He hadn’t asked her to, he’d ordered it, and she’d complied without wondering if she could do it or not.

  “Good girl. Now let me down gently.”

  The landing wasn’t perfect, but that was okay. She’d get the hang of it.

  Now that he’d done it and knew he could, it was time to let them in on his true intentions. “Okay, realistically speaking, the vampires are going to be training you, and I’m fairly certain both Etta and Venom will figure it out. I’m only going to keep the order in place until we talk to Aaron and Nathan, so you can’t get in trouble for not notifying Marco immediately.”

  “I feel better about that,” Fabio said. “It doesn’t need to be widely known, but we can’t hide it from Marco and Aaron. Or, if we can, we shouldn’t.”

  Collosa sat on the bench and pulled Kelsey to him, so she stood between his legs, facing him. He was so tall, this put them nearly eye-to-eye. “Tell us what you’re thinking, tiny vampire.”

  “I’m relieved I’m not in charge. I’m happy I won’t be required to keep it from Marco, Etta, and Venom, but I’m really happy it isn’t my decision to make, either way.”

  She looked to Eunice with those oh-so-hazel eyes, and the gold flecks seemed shinier. Golder. Almost sparkly. “I trust you. I love you. It feels as if...” she patted Collosa’s hand to get him to move it from her hip, and when he did, she walked to Eunice and put her hand over his chest. Over his heart. “My heart is beating in time to yours. Marco is supposed to power me, and I suppose he still does, but I’m also powered by the three of you. Our bond, our union, is like a little engine, putting out more power than we each have as a single being. Three cubed when there are three. I know four isn’t the same as four cubed, but it’s more than just three cubed.”

  36

  Kelsey awoke in the dark, as always, but something wasn’t right. She tried to move her right hand, but it stayed at her side.

  She reached out to feel for her men, and panic surged through her veins. They weren’t there. She was alone, and trapped in a punishment box. Storage box. Whatever you called it, there was no way out.

  It was so dark having her eyes closed or open didn’t matter, but she closed them to think. The box kept her from communicating with anyone. No telepathing, no drawing energy. Her men were probably fine, she was just blocked from sensing them.

  Just for the hell of it she tried to contact Etta.

  And was shocked when Etta’s voice sounded back in her head.

  Ah, you’re up early. Marco is fitting you into his schedule, so you’ll need to be patient. It’s good you contacted me and not him. He isn’t happy with you. I assume you know how to grovel. You may want to consider all the ways you can do so, while you wait. I have a full schedule as well, but I’ll try to check in on you later.

  I can’t feel my men.

  They’re in Faerie, so Marco knows he’s dealing with you and only you today. Enough talking. Use your quiet time wisely.

  Etta didn’t block her from responding, but Kelsey didn’t ask the rest of her questions. She wanted to consider Etta a friend despite their rough start, but her survival instincts wouldn’t let her do so. The hierarchy would come first, and there was no way to know if Etta was being nice because Marco had told her to, or because she chose to.

  And even if it was the latter, she’d still have to do as Marco said.

  Which meant she needed to be focused on Marco. What’s a vampire to do when she finds herself with two Masters? Eunice had forbidden her from telling Marco for the time being. If she told Marco to look in her head at that conversation, it was tantamount to telling him what she’d been ordered not to.

  So she hatched a plan for how to sidestep the issue without pissing the Master Vampire off.

  She didn’t expect Marco to be the one to actually open the lid of
her casket-like box, but she schooled her face to not show surprise.

  “Master.”

  “Well, it’s good you remember that much, at least.”

  He didn’t move to release her ankles or wrists, so she jumped right into it.

  “Before anything else is said, I’d like your leave to request something I feel is important.”

  He crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, but didn’t say anything. Kelsey hoped that was him giving permission.

  “You put someone in charge of me. A mongoose. You did so when we didn’t know the mongoose is my animal. And it’s possible no one could understand what would happen with a powerful mongoose and a not-so-powerful vampire when an unintended blood bond formed, but I find myself with two Masters, and I’m begging you to fix this.”

  “Etta gave you instructions to grovel.”

  “She did, Master.”

  “I haven’t heard any groveling.”

  “No, Sir. I don’t believe I’ve done anything wrong. I respect your authority over me. I hope you won’t keep me from the men I’ve fallen in love with, but I understand it’s your right.”

  “Open your mind to me.”

  It was a direct order. One she’d have had a hard time resisting, but she didn’t want to resist it. She’d done nothing wrong, and she didn’t believe her men had, either. They’d postponed telling Marco, but only long enough to check in with their superior. No one had meant to keep anything from him permanently. Her men had followed their own hierarchy’s rules.

  Marco allowed her to see what he saw, hear what he heard. He went through her memories much faster than she could go through someone’s head, but it still took some time. When he stopped, he was seated on a chair, still looking down into her box. Still beautiful and terrifying.

  “You’re going to have more than two Masters. You’ll have your three men, the Dragon King, the Amakhosi, and me. I can fix the magic so no one can overwrite your loyalty to me with a command in the future, but I can’t help you with the rest.”